In A Hero's Boots
by Lina.Wren
Summary: To wake in someone else's body, wearing someone else's face, in someone else's world. Does the tunic make the hero? Well, this new soul in Link's body doesn't have much of a choice but to find out. (Twilight Princess)
1. Chapter 1

There are lots of worlds. Millions of millions of millions. That's the Many-Worlds theory.

It's conceivable that in an infinite number of universes, there would be one exactly like every universe it's possible to dream of. Everything we create, by the law of infinites, must exist _somewhere_.

Yet I don't believe that's what's happened to get me here.

I believe I've finally gone mad.

Water, a metre in front of my feet, pulls calmly up over its shore and fades back down. I'm surrounded by trees, wall of rock and dirt. One gate, open, leads into this clearing. This is Ordon Spring.

I've played the game over and over again. A lot of the time, I don't finish a whole play-through. The start is the most familiar area. I know this like the back of my head.

I don't know it this way.

My mind is only half-comprehending the realism. The uneven texture of the ground, large rocks, dirt, pebbles, sand and gravel, different sizes, different colours, different shapes, no trace of a repeating pattern, no twice-used element. I can feel the breeze sweep through the trees and across my skin. The leaves move as they are expected to.

The water – neither of my games systems do I believe capable of rendering such realistic water textures. It moves like it's real, precisely because it is.

In my head anyway. Because like I said, I must be crazy.

"Tell me...Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?"

I know this speech. I turn and look at him. Every inch, every hair on his head, real. I can see a soul through his eyes.

And I fee like he is something fatherly. Not from knowing – not from playing this game over and over again when I'm unhappy and bored, wanting to feel special, be that hero again. I can feel, truly feel, depth in his character. He's a person, Rusl.

"They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs..." He went on.

It's not as if I could think of anything to say. My tongue feels clipped, because I can't think straight right now.

"...The only time we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits who have left our

world.

"That is why loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight...

"But enough talk of sadness...I have a favour to ask of you, Link."

I know this favour. I know this whole speech. I know it all, but I'm not getting the sense of deja-vu I should be.

"I was supposed to deliver something to the royal family of Hyrule the day after

tomorrow... Yes, it was a task set to me by the mayor, but...would you go in my stead? You have...never been to Hyrule, right?

"In the kingdom of Hyrule there is a great castle, and around it is Castle Town,

a community far bigger than our little village. ...And far bigger than Hyrule is the rest of the world the gods created.

"You should look upon it all with your own eyes."

My eyes. God, I have not even seen myself, but I know these are not my eyes. Stop talking, Rusl, I know this. What's going on?

"It is getting late... We should head back to the village. I will talk to the

mayor about this matter."

Right. You do that.

I lift my hand. I can move, at least – I just hadn't been trying before. Too flabbergasted. I'm still flabbergasted. I wave at Rusl. What else am I supposed to do? I'm in shock.

He leaves and I stand up.

Simultaneously, it feels right, but makes me nauseous. That upward swoop is too severe. He's too tall – Link, that is, or me.

"Ah," I say, making the only sound I can think of to make.

Why am I here? Is this a dream? See, that's doubtful, because I don't know any dream to be this realistic. I pinch myself and register the pain.

Then I catch a glimpse of myself in the water.

I step forward, to get a better look. My feet splash in the water and I feel it.

Sharp eyes and sharp ears. This isn't my face. Honestly, it's even hard to connect it to Link's. I'm so used to seeing it as simplistic graphics. Drawings of the character are anime-esque.

This is human. I move my hand to touch my face, almost jumping when my reflection moves with me.

It's my face. Someone else's, but I feel it. I can feel my own touch, can feel my fingertips brushing over my cheeks. Handsome, aren't I? Or him...

A dream? Does that pinching thing everyone does in movies really work? Another world I've fallen into? Madness?

I haven't the slightest.

All I do know is that I'm cold.

My feet, in sandals, are wet and one arm and shoulder are exposed. It really is getting dark. That's what twilight means.

But where do I go? To Link's house? It's only logical, I guess. It hardly seems right, though. As if doing that would be intruding. It's not as if I hear his thoughts in my head. His voice, if Link really had one. There's not a soul here but myself.

I blush, thinking over this body, as I walk. There's certainly something there that wasn't there before.

I was female before and this is strange.

I remember the layout. Things are longer, however. It's a longer path back to Link's tree-house home. There's a path to follow, but there aren't exactly walls on either side of the road preventing me from running off. It's wide open. Uneven, sure, and not somewhere I'd like to walk wearing sandals, but open. It's a whole world, even large then the Hyrule and Ordon that I know.

Can I really say I know it? This, just viewing this, it's an entire world.

I reach the tree. Definitely a well-made home. Did Link make this himself? I don't know the exact history of the character in this particular game. I haven't a clue who he is beyond what the game told me. So who am I then, in here?

If I fall asleep, will I wake back in my home? Some movies do that...

Do I want to wake back there? For the first time, I'm thinking about the larger view of this situation. I'm... I'm in a Zelda game, aren't I? I am! It's, it's like a dream, isn't it? I'm Link. I'm the Hero of the Twilight! Or, I will be. Or he will be. Or something.

God, what am I even supposed to want?

Falling asleep in his bed, at the very top of the tree, is easier than it should be.

It's comfortable. It smells... the way it should smell. Like home, even as I consciously think this is not what my home smells like. Fatherly Rusl. Link's home feels like home. This is something deeper than body-switching.

But I can think about that in the morning.

I woke pretty early. Fado isn't the one who woke me...

Oh, dear god, it was my bladder.

What the hell? Ugh, I do not, absolutely do not, know how to work one of these! I scurried downstairs from the loft. There wasn't a bathroom in the game... there's not a bathroom in the real world, either. The house is, well, amazing to see. All these little details I looked over when viewing them through a TV screen. This is someone's life here, on these shelves.

No time for that.

Gotta pee. Oh, god, gotta pee.

This is so embarrassing! Does he really pee out in the woods? I suppose Ordon wouldn't exactly have running water. Is there an outhouse?

Down the ladder, making my way behind the tree, I spot one. It's a ways off from the home, which I suppose does make sense, as I imagine these things would smell pretty bad. It's a pit toilet, isn't it?

There's a... sort of... seat here. Eww. I've only seen these sorts of toilets in museums. Do you sit on it or just kinda hover over it? It's just a plank of wood with a big hole in it. That does not look comfortable.

Video-game Link never had to deal with toilet time. Ah, and what would happen when I got my period?

Oh, wait, no, that's dumb. With this... pipe system... I wouldn't be getting a period.

I sat down. Okay.

That thing was hanging between my legs. It was unnatural.

I knew that boys stood to pee, but I sure as hell wasn't doing that.

Well, it was good to know that the release mechanism seemed to operate the same way.

No toilet paper.

That was a whole new challenge.

Speak of culture shock...

Walking back to the house (not knowing what else to do) I contemplated. This body is utterly strange. I don't know how to live in it. Being this isn't exactly something you get advice on either is it? As if anyone would believe me. Yeah, don't mind me, just a girl from a completely different world, stuck in the body of Link, your home-boy.

Yep, that would be awful. I don't remember any asylums in Hyrule either.

"Ilia," I found myself saying aloud.

I spotted her taking Epona. Of course, that's how she was introduced. She bathed the horse in the spring. Pretty horse.

Pretty girl, too.

Her features were soft and round, but her body was shaped with strength from work. Her hair, short, lightly straying to the side. Sandy blond and beautiful. She was beautiful. She'd be a model in my world, I was sure.

I couldn't say whether the change had altered my sexuality. I'm bisexual, actually.

I'd certainly never felt this way about the video game character, though.

"Hi, Link," She called back to me, "Aw, I was going to surprise you and wash Epona for you. Well, if you're awake, why don't you come with me?"

"Um, s-sure." I said.

I could feel my new face flushing. Ilia didn't seem to notice, thankfully.

The situation was so awkward. They were childhood friends. To be me at all was deceiving her. She was acting the way she would act with Link, not a stranger.

What should I do about this? It would be the same with everyone Link knew, wouldn't it? Should I tell them? How, even? I could say I've lost my memory. That seems like a good enough shot. Oh, no, that wouldn't work, I couldn't hold that lie, I know it. I'd find things familiar. The people, the places.

My body was strong. Tensing my muscles, I could feel that. Link was lean, but a hard worker. He'd grown his muscles up like that.

It felt like stealing to have them to myself now, work free.

"Link?" Ilia asked.

I hadn't moved an inch. She must be wondering what I was doing.

She moved towards me, leading Epona along.

Fado arrived at that moment.

I was thankful to see the loud man.

He greeted us and asked for my assistance at the ranch, herding goats.

Oh, hell, I have no idea how to herd goats. I've never even ridden a horse.

"Um, sorry," I started to say.

Ilia must have thought it intended to her.

She laughed, then sighed.

"It's all right," She said, "I understand. You have a good day, then, and don't work Epona too hard, all right?"

I nodded. She disappeared off into the woods, horse free, and I took Epona's reins to lead her.

How was I going to do this?

"Fado," I said – ah, my voice sounds so strange!

"Go ahead," he said, "I'll meet you there."

Go... ahead?

Oh, hell no.

What was I supposed to do? I looked at Epona – and I felt instinct aid me. I knew how to climb up onto her. I knew how to grip the saddle, thrust myself up off the ground, pulling at the same time, leg flying where it belonged of its own accord.

Why were some things 'right' and other things were not? I could have used this instinct earlier this morning.

I directed her, again knowing what to do, to trot in towards town. Again, it was a greater distance. There certainly wasn't and load time anywhere either. No sudden disappearance from one place to appear in the other. I could see the village grow larger as I grew closer.

It was quite the place. Idyllic. A few villagers were milling about the place, attending to their own duties. I made my way through it all. No extra houses – there seemed to be the same number here as in the game. The same approximate places. It was familiar and comforting. I could imagine relaxing here by the stream or climbing up that tree, threading my hands into the strong vines for grip.

I found the ranch soon enough. It was on a hill, far side of the town, but again, no walls and a longer distance. I could feel the warm sun on my skin and the touch of the breeze.

I could smell the goat shit.

Everything about this place was real as real gets.

What... was I supposed to do here? Goats leant their heads down, grazing or taking in the fair weather.

"H-hey." I said, coming behind a group of them, sort of waving my hands.

Nothing. As expected. It was sort of annoying.

"Hey!" I shouted, clapping my hands above my head.

They understood what they were supposed to do, they just didn't want to do it. My shouting and loud noise drew them off, back towards the place they knew they were supposed to go.

Well, I could do this.

I led Epona around, clapping and shouting, feeling like an idiot, but also getting the job done. It would be good if I could finish before Fado came back and saw me. He might think I was strange.

I hurried and was able to get every goat inside the barn. I suppose he wanted them there to milk them? It was still awfully early in the day. I didn't imagine they were always turned inside this early. They wouldn't have time to graze if this were the case.

"Ah, fast job again, Link!" Fado called up to me as I walked the horse back into town.

"Why so early, again?" I asked him.

"Early?" He said, "It ain't early! Is it...? Na, Sera's closing her shop already."

"Right," I said, looking down.

Well, maybe I hadn't woken as early as I'd thought I had.

What now? There was still time until twilight. Talk to the villagers? That's what I'd do starting a new game. Even if I'd heard the lines a hundred times, to speak with them gave the world a sense of completeness. It helped get me into the world. I certainly didn't need any help with that now.

What, then? Search for rupies? It was somewhat doubtful that the grass would be a replenishing source of money or that I would be able to break large rocks apart just by throwing them.

I knew I'd have to save Uli's cradle tomorrow, so I could get the fishing rod, so I could catch a fish for Sera's cat, so Sera would open her store again, give me a bottle, and let me buy the slingshot.

You know, bottles probably weren't so incredibly valuable anymore. In fact, they were probably just bottles. Just a... piece of shaped glass.

Whatever.

For today... speak with Ilia?

What did she even do during the day?

I think, honestly, that _I_ hunted. Helped out at the ranch when they needed me. That was why I had a horse and why I lived away from the village. Probably, anyway. I... sort of felt it. I would be a good hunter. Even though I've never hunted a thing in my life, except grasshoppers, maybe.

I was lingering outside the mayor's home. A voice called out to me.

"Are you going to stand there or come in, Link?"

"Ah, um." I stammered.

Ilia gracefully swept out of the house, closing the door behind her. She had this sort of effortless confidence to her. She knew exactly what she wanted. She was headstrong and self-assured. It made her all the more beautiful.

I blushed, again. She was a game character. That was so weird.

"Hmm, I've got you tongue-tied again, do I?" She asked. Her tone was sweet and low.

"Oh, I, well, I'm distracted." I said.

She made me feel so strange. Like... all warm and tight and happy. And guilty. And disgusted. And, damn, so very, very awkward.

"I wondered," I said at last, "If you might want to..."

"Wash Epona?" She finished.

"Um, sure." I said. I had no idea what I was going to ask anyone.

She giggled at me, girlish and proud, and took Epona's reigns from my hands.

"Epona is a girl too, so you have to treat her nice like one!" She said.

"Oh, yes, absolutely," I said back.

That set Ilia giggling again. It all felt awkward, sure, but strangely right at the same time. I've always thought that if Link wasn't taken away on his great heroic journey, he'd probably have married her. They'd have had two little village children, grown old, died.

I wouldn't want that life. Somehow, I didn't really feel that Link would either.

It's not as if I want the realm to be in trouble, suffering. I just... want adventure. I want to be special and unique. To be the chosen hero, isn't that something amazing? How could a village life compare to that?

So I didn't ship these characters. Link and Ilia. There would never be... enough life there. Enough specialness. Enough adventure.

Thinking about it, that way... it helped me manage these feelings for Ilia.

She was just a girl.

There were Queens and Princesses out there. I wasn't the kind of girl to settle for a quiet life.

None-the-less, Ilia could be a wonderful friend.

"Ilia," I said, a little more normal at last "I'd like to talk to you about something.

"Yes?" She said, preening Epona's mane as we walked towards Ordon Spring.

"Um, this is going to sound a little odd." I said, "I really -"

Come from another world, I was going to say. I'd almost spontaneously decided to say it. But the words didn't come out of my mouth. Other words flew into their place.

"- want to explore the world." I said.

I hadn't changed my mind halfway though the sentence. That wasn't what I meant to say!

"I see," She said, looking at me oddly.

"I mean -" I tried to say again, but was again forced into different words.

"Rusl helped me out by giving me a task." I said.

"Oh, he told my father about it, actually," Ilia said, "I wondered when you were going to tell me."

"Ah, sorry about that," I said.

She waved her hand – no worries.

"I..." I gave up. "I'm going to be away for a while. I'll come straight home after the task, but, well, I think I might go away again. Go... see things. Find myself, maybe?"

Ilia looked confused, "I understand."

Did she? Why did she look so confused?

"Will it be for a long time?" She asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe. Maybe for a very long time."

She stared down at her toes, "I might not be here when you get back. You... know what I mean?"

I shouldn't know what she meant, but by that same instinct, I did. 'I might marry someone else.'

They'd never talked about getting married. I could just somehow know that. But it had been somewhat... of a given. That they had been so close, before... and close in age, too, of no other prospects in the village. Perfect match.

"You've... always been sort of distant, Link." Ilia said, "In some way, I almost admire you for that. It's like... you're so much _more,_ you know? But..."

"I understand." I said.

Did I?

This was all so very, very strange.

"Good night, Link," Ilia said, turning away suddenly, dropping Epona's lead.

"Ilia?" I called.

She was already gone, yet somehow, I had seen a vestige of tears hovering in the air.

Well, sure fucked that up.

I'd basically rejected a girl, hadn't I? That's the first time I've ever rejected someone in my life. No, I hadn't, had I? God, I didn't know, who let down who there? Ilia was the one who was crying.

I must be heartless, because I hardly felt a thing at all.

I took Epona home and let her graze, calling an early night.


	2. Chapter 2

Millions and millions of stars. I dreamed about them that night. I was bodiless, floating in the universe, part of it. A sense of belonging gripped me through that dream. That I could dream at all...

Did a person every dream inside of a dream? I didn't have an answer. Couldn't remember one. But in case, I woke in that same world I'd fallen asleep in.

The comfortable bed in the loft, smelling like home.

Now, was I really going to just follow some storyline? What's the point of my being here? I've observed the story already, countless times. I want to be something, someone. Yesterday, I couldn't explain the reality of my predicament, but I could still change things. I'm a part of this world now. I don't plan to live through this world sitting down.

I hopped up out of bed and confidently made my way down the ladder. I had no idea how I'd gotten to this world and no idea if I wanted to get out. The fact that I hadn't the slightest clue how to return to my world made my second wondering irrelevent.

I changed clothes, wearing what was probably one of Link's only other sets, and washed my face in this basin with fresh water gathered from the outside stream, running near enough to the house. I filled the basin to wash in tomorrow as well – if I was still going to be here tomorrow.

So far, things had gone as they had in the game. I had no reason to believe they would go otherwise in the future. The only differences I could notice were more detail, more realism, more depth.

I felt my face carefully with my hands as I washed it. There wasn't the slightest trace of stubble or unevenness. Would I grow a beard? Perhaps Link never grew facial hair. He certainly didn't all through the game – but game-Link didn't have to use the restroom either.

It was still early enough in the morning. I always woke early – my own tendency, not Link's, despite how these things had overlapped.

I had no desire to have a run-in with the village children.

Taking care of morning business – well, still embarrassing and awkward, a little bit, but better. I would be used to it, soon enough, though I doubted I'd ever stand. Would not think of it. Ah, whatever, soon that would not even be noteworthy.

As I walked towards the village with determination in my step, I thought about myself. I'm a very introspective person.

This sudden gender disparity wasn't effecting me as much as maybe it should be. Maybe I hadn't experienced enough of it to feel strange. I'm a feminine enough girl – I braid my hair, wear a little gloss on my lips, love the breeze-y, light feeling of skirts. Most of my friends are female. I have no aversion to pink, though it isn't my favourite.

Yet, aside from the situation of the pipes, there wasn't anything odd to me about this. It felt so normal to be so male. That I didn't feel anything wrong, that was a wrong feeling. Like guilt over not feeling guilt.

"Morning, Fado!" I called to him, seeing him exiting his home.

"My, you're up early, aren't you, Link!" He called back.

"Yep! Going to get some work done today. I'll be leaving for that journey soon enough, you know." I said.

Fado nodded and waved, "Come by later, then, and help me put the goats away before dark!"

Fado left on his own way, presumably to release the goats from their barn to graze throughout the day.

"Good morning, Uli," I said, going out of my way to speak with her, "You look worried, what's wrong?"

"Ah, Link," She said, looking to me from whatever far off vision she was having, "You have not seen a cradle come floating by here, have you? It is a baby's cradle made of finely woven tree bark... I made that cradle when my first child was born, and I have cherished it all these years..."

"And it floated off somewhere down the river?" I asked.

"Oh, yes." She said. She seemed a little surprised, but it wasn't too far a jump for me to reach that conclusion.

She explained how she had lost it. I told her, straightforwardly, that I would find it and bring it back and wouldn't hear of her not troubling me.

Off to the main part of the 'river', then. A creek, really. It widened into a proper river later on.

The early sun sparkled on the water, gently flowing downstream. There was a wide river basic seen in the distance.

I wondered...

There was magic in this world, wasn't there? Was hawk grass working as it did in game a possibility? There was no shame in trying it.

I wander a little farther down the river, til I found some growing on a rock. Now, it wasn't shaped exactly like the hawk grass I'd been expecting. Certainly didn't have a clear bird shape growing in it – would be a bit silly if it did, wouldn't it? But, somehow, I knew exactly how to fold it to make it whistle when I pressed it to my lips. It was a loud, clear, melodic sound. Instinct aided me again.

I stuck out my arm, a little awardly. Was this the way to do it?

I saw a bird, which was flying high overhead in its hunt, swoop over and down towards me. Incredible. It was huge, with wide, majestic wings and small, piercing eyes.

"H-hello." I said to it.

I didn't expect any response, but still received one. The hawk nodded, or bowed its head to me. It seemed to have some dark intelligence. It was a wild creature, sure, but a noble one, and it knew me. Or knew Link.

"Help me out, a little bit?" I went on, "A hand-woven cradle has disappeared down this river. Could you fetch it?"

The hawk nodded, very clearly this time and looked ahead. I angeled my arm, instinctively, for its take-off, and the beautiful creature flew down river.

Now, could everyone do that? Or was Link special?

He had the heart of a beast, right?

Did _I_ too, then?

Soon, the hawk reappeared in my vision. It was carrying that cradle! Amazing!

"Ah!" I cried out, lifting my hands to catch it as the hawk dropped it mid-flight.

"Thank you!" I shouted after it, before turning quickly and running back to the village.

I delivered the cradle to Uli, who presented me with the fishing rob Colin had made.

"Thank you," I said, "And please, pass my thanks on to your son."

Time to talk to Sera, though, it wasn't strictly necessary.

"...Oh, my... It's young Link...Welcome, m'dear. You... You didn't happen to see my little cat out there, did you? He ate the fish we were going to have for supper last night, and I gave him a good scolding... but then he went out and hasn't returned... I'm so fraught with worry for him... I've exhausted myself..."

"I see," I said, "Don't worry, then, Sera, I'll find him. Perhaps he is trying to catch his own fish?"

"Hm?" She asked, "Why would you think that? Though, maybe..."

No time to waste! I am getting things done here so I can move on!

Fishing. Well, I know the concept of it pretty well. I've read enough novels with fishing in them, haven't I?

Ah, bait. Bait, bait, bait, where would I get some bait.

Bee larva! I spotted Hanch observing the hive where he intended to acquire that present to give to Sera to make her happy again.

"Hey, Hanch!" I called out behind him.

"Huh? Oh! Sorry! Sorry! Didn't realize it was you, Link. I was thinking maybe I could knock it down that hive by throwing rocks at it... But, of course, it's so high up... It makes that pretty hard to do..."

"Go for it," I said, "You don't know until you try."

Was it bad of me to say that? I knew what was about to happen, even stepped away from the man.

He lobbed his rock and it hit the hive dead center, splintering it apart and driving larges parts of the hive to the ground far beneath the tree. As expected, for me anyway, bees flew from the remains on the tree and from the ruins on the ground to give chase.

Hanch flew for the water and I made my way immediately to the hive bits of the ground.

Jackpot. I've got larva.

Oh, god, it's so gross.

I put it in my empty rupee pouch, stashing the rupees in a pocket, so I didn't have to touch the squirming half-formed bees. Got stung once. I had no allergies that I knew of, so it wasn't such a great fright, but it hurt and was sure to irritate my arm.

I picked out a large-looking larvae. White, squirming, slimy, and stabbed the end of the hook through it. I'm squemish, true, but not too squemish to avoid doing what I feel needs to be done. I've never killed anything more than spiders and roaches before, but I'm a meat-eater, so I don't object to it. I'd rather have someone else do the dirty work, but if I need to, I'm sure I have the ability to do what I need to. A single bee larva? That wasn't about to intimidate me.

Sera's cat had found me. It was watching. I love cats, even if they are cute little thieves.

"Puss, puss, puss," I called, clicking my tongue at it, "I'm going to catch a fish for you, if you will be nice and go home. Sera worries so much about you, don't you know? Puss, puss, puss!"

Like playing with a toy on a string, I swung the line back, then forward into the water. The bobber landed with a gentle splash, sending ripples through the calm section of the creek I'd chosen to fish at.

A buzzing insect flew about my face and irritated me for a time, but after that, the act of fishing was relaxing.

For the first three larvae and the first two spots, I caught nothing. Three spot's the charm!

The bobber dipped below the surface, indicating to me that the time was right. I could not see the fish that had caught the thin metal hook to drag the bobber beneath the surface, so the piece of floating wood was my only indication. I pulled back in a smooth, even motion – no reel on this fishing pole, so I half-walked backwards, pulling up – then, near the edge of the water still, I yanked.

A fish! A beautiful, gorgeous fish!

Flopping around, injured and bloody by the hook, dying of lack of air outside of the water. The creature was suffering – I did not intend to let it continue in that way. Poor creature, well, it would be eaten soon enough

"Wait," I told the cat, who dashed forward when I'd caught the fish, "Let me take the hook out and..."

I had no knife on hand to end its suffering that way – the cat scooped up the fish, clear of the hook, and took it away, heading back towards Sera's. I followed it, as it struggled with the heavy fish in its small jaws.

"What, no thank you?" I called out to it.

I swear, I saw it twitch its tail like it was haughty.

Those animals. It made me smile. Gotta love them, don't you?

I strode inside Sera's, looking, well, maybe a little bit smug. The shop-woman looked up at me, but before she could say a word, she was distracted.

Almost instantly after me, the cat high-tailed it through its little cat door.

"Aw!" She cried out, almost cute.

I gave her a moment to be reunited with her cat, then smiled at her and moved forward.

"He's a good boy, isn't he?" I said, "Just hungry for fish again."

"Ah, yes, he is. Oh, Link, you are too, young lad! Thank you! You did this, didn't you? You found him!"

"Ah, well," Honestly, I was only pretending at modesty. I felt pretty happy with myself, catching my first fish so fast.

"Well, I know what you're in here for," She said, smiling slyly, "Another bottle of preserved milk, isn't that right?"

Preserved?

"Yep!" I said, "You know me, love the stuff!"

She laughed and told me it was on the house today.

"Fantastic," I said, "Thank you. Say, I heard you were selling a slingshot..."

"Those boys told you _all_ about that, didn't they?"

Well, they sort of did. Not in this world, in person.

"I'd like to purchase it," I said.

She reprimanded me lightly, being too old for toys, but let me buy the slingshot with some of – Link's? My? - rupees.

That done... what now? Ah, help Fado. He'd said so this morning. Slightly different from the game, wasn't that... I must have changed things!

Great day, fabulous day. I sprinted to my home for Epona. To run like this – this definitely isn't my body. It feels so good, I feel so free. My breath still came heavily, but my muscles did not burn. My body, this body, was used to exertion. In fact, though I was out of breath, my body almost yearned for more exercise. To sit idle, playing games all day... I felt like Link's body would not like that as much as mine did.

I climbed astride Epona and had her hurry through the village with me. No time to talk or observe the beauty! No sniffing roses! I wanted to get things done.

Of course, I had some thinking to do as well. Clearly, I couldn't tell anyone who I really was or where I'd come from. I'd really, really tried. If I couldn't tell them that, they probably wouldn't believe me if I told them about what would happen in the future. Honestly, I might not even be able to.

So I'd have to find a trickier way to keep the children and Ilia from being kidnapped, keep myself from being wolf-ified. I could do better than save this world. I could prevent harm and unhappiness to the people in it. I was more than Link, I was Link with future knowledge. I loved this game, almost most Zelda games. I could do this!

Would I go home if I 'beat the game'? Well, maybe I didn't care.

I finished my work, putting the goats away, and Fado sent me off with gleeful thanks.

Well, now, I was finally free for a little while. No game 'duties'. I had the equipment I was supposed to at this point and I had the chores the villagers might want me to take care of taken care of. Well, I could head into the woods a ways, maybe try and get that lantern. After all, though in the game I was blocked by gates, in this world, I could climb over them. No piece of landscape could stop me anymore.

Once, I used the boomerang glitch to get on top of the rooftop at Snowpeak so I could look around at the blank backs of the buildings. I'd thought that pretty impressive at the time. Boomerang glitch to a place I wasn't 'supposed' to be. But I didn't really need that anymore, did I? I could climb now, really climb. Walls weren't flat anymore, they had texture, there were places where I could grip.

I wondered if I could, in this world, do the early master sword glitch. Not exactly a glitch in this world, huh? But could I just make my way through the thick parts of the wood and find it? Or find other things? I could take things I might find useful, in the deserted Eldin houses, everywhere no one else needed them. Maybe even talk to people about my true quest, get them to help me. In this world, where there weren't necessary but arbitrary rules in place, my possibilities were endless.

I deposited Epona at home to rest and feed and walked past, into the forest, past Ordon Spring, through the woods to that locked gate. Past that point wasn't Ordon territory anymore, was it? It was Faron. Not Twilight yet, however, which was fortunate.

The endless pit you exited by wasn't so endless here. It was a sort of ravine through the land, my path somewhat cut into the rock. I could see the bottom of this, rocky, a little bit of water pooled. Not too far off. Yet somehow, that was more nerve-wracking than the bottomless pit might have been. It reminded me that it was real.

I knew that I could be hurt here. I'd pinched myself earlier. If I fell down that ravine, it would certainly hurt quite a lot. And the bridge looked terribly rickety.

I actually thought about going back.

It was a stupid, half a second thought.

A bridge? A bridge scared me? I would face far more frightening things on this adventure than an old bridge. If I didn't get over fear now, when would I?

I stepped forward, confidently and quickly. It didn't collapse under my feet. It was probably decades old or older. It had stood the test of time, of many feet over it. It wasn't going to give way now.

I scurried across it none-the-less and took a deep breath on the other side.

Right, into the woods. I was after a lantern.

It was quite a journey and took me quite some time. The path was still well-marked, thank goodness, but the woods were wide and unfamiliar. There were many more trees than I might have expected. Sounds silly, to not expect the woods to have so many trees. The game Faron didn't. It had more the hint of trees, the idea of them. The outside walls of the place were painted on. False trees, to make you believe you were in a much larger place than you were. This place didn't have those kinds of space limits. True, real trees, stretched on as far as the eye could see.

I found Coro eventually, near where I could spot Faron Spring. The fresh water from that place was probably important for him to live here.

"Afternoon!" I called as I pushed through the brush to spot him.

He seemed a little startled and jumped a bit when I spoke.

"Whoa! An Ordonian! Hey, guy!" He said.

"Hey... guy." I replied.

He gave me a look up and down. Clearly, he was searching me for something. I didn't have much on me, it was true. I'd left the fishing rod and slingshot back at home. That was just about all the equipment I had at the point.

"Listen, I'm not sure you should be wandering around the woods without a

lantern." He told me, "Just because it's daylight doesn't mean it's safe. There are a ton of caves and dank spots around here that get pretty dark even in the middle of the day."

"Oh, really?" I said, "Sorry I don't spend a lot of time around here. I can't afford a lantern. I'll be fine, don't you think?"

He shook his head, "Here! Go on, guy. Take this!"

'This', of course, was the lantern.

"See, I sell lantern oil here... I'm trying to drum up sales by giving away free lanterns! It's a business tactic, guy!

"See, as long as you've got oil to fuel your lantern, you can light your way and

set fire to stuff. They're the best!"

"Wow, thank you!" I said, as if truly surprised, "I appreciate that."

He didn't ask me to light a fire beneath his logs, though they were not burning. I suppose the real world does not need basic item use tutorials.

Would I run into the Hero Shade at all?

Who knows. For now, I needed to get back. The forest was much large than I expected it to be, and unlike the game world, time didn't only pass with progression. I didn't want to be walking around the forest after dark, wasting lantern fuel and risking a run-in with mobs.

The children weren't present once I arrived, as I'd been hoping. No one was running off after monkeys and getting themselves kidnapped by monsters tonight.

…though, I also had to remember that things might still happen even if I wasn't there to watch them. For now, I was probably safe, but it was something else to keep in mind.

Rusl had dropped off the wooden sword, minus stylish large chest, while I'd been away. I wondered...

I took the blade in my hand and gave it a few pratice swings in the air. Hmm. Aside from my being stronger, I didn't notice any real difference than what my... what, real body would have done? Jeez, deciding which world was real was a little confusing. There was the game world, this world, the 'real' world... but this world could be called the game world in relation to the 'real' world and it could be called the 'real' world in relative to the game world.

Ugh, it was making my head hurt. I needed better descriptions, but for the moment, couldn't think of any.

I swung again a few more times. It felt kind of stupid. I didn't know what I was doing. Could I really kill monsters with this?

I closed my eyes and tried to picture it. I wasn't really getting anything, except...

There was some whisper, like a memory, at the edge of my mind. I tried to reach for it, but it escaped my grasp, until I was frustrated and put down the wooden blade.

Whatever.

I climbed up to the loft to sleep.

And I had a dream that night. There it was, the memory that escaped me.

I felt differently. I was thinking differently, sort of. I was still me, but I was someone else too. Link, I realized. That was the most logical conclusion. Link's memories, trapped in my mind?

Was Link in here somewhere?

I saw myself riding Epona away into the woods. It was silent, aside from her hoofsteps. Eerie. I wore my Ordon clothes. There were supplies in Epona's saddle. I simply knew that, somehow.

I went to a cave – I knew this cave, both of us did. This was in Faron wood somewhere. Epona was left here. I took a bow.

This wasn't the heroes bow. It was just a bow, looked handmade, as if my one of the villagers. I knew, again not knowing how, that Rusl and I had made it together.

I wandered away, deeper, deeper still into the woods.

That cave must have been – yes, it was – my home away from home. My part way residence, like a hunting cabin. I was a hunter, I was sure of it now.

Silently, I moved.

I found it. My prey.

I didn't want to watch, but I couldn't look away, couldn't close my eyes, couldn't move, because this wasn't really happening, it was a memory and a dream.

Gently, silently, a knocked an arrow to the bow. I took aim before drawing the string. The deer, far from me, stood still as stone. It sensed my presence, yet did not know enough to move. It's ears twitched.

I pulled back in a single swift move and loosed the arrow. It flew straight and true to its target.

I wished that was the end. But one arrow did not fell this deer. It was frightened, weakened, bleeding, and confused. It took off, attempting an escape, but in its confusion, banged through the brush. Instantly, I was moving, up, off my feet, moving forward, but my hands still held the bow, readied another arrow, took another shot. I missed, but prepared again, shot again, and hit it again.

It fell. Still alive, but struggling in its injuries. Trying to stand.

I didn't shoot again. Why didn't I shoot again? I knew. I was going to it, drawing a knife from my belt.

Properly, I killed it.

And at that, the dream dissolved. I woke in the early morning, wet with sweat. It had been a memory of another person. I hadn't done that. Yet, I felt as if I did. City girl. I'd never killed a thing beyond cockroaches in my life.

Hadn't I told myself I could do it? That I wouldn't mind? It was for food, wasn't it? A necessary job, for sustenance, for money, for my village.

I felt sick anyway. After a long time, I felt asleep again.


	3. Chapter 3

Today was the day I, Link, was to leave on my journey to deliver the tribute of sword and shield to the royal family of Hyrule. Today was the day Ordon Village, in fact, the entirety of Hyrule, came under attack from monsters hired and the forces of Twilight.

I couldn't afford to take my time.

I packed supplies into Epona's saddle, almost out of habit, and after a bit of digging through Link's home, I found that bow with small quiver and arrows. Took the wooden sword Rusl had made me. I slung them over my back and hid my knife in my belt.

I still felt affected by that memory yesterday. The weapons felt strange and foreign in my hands. It was like I was being struck over and over again with the idea that these weren't mine. Maybe Link was in here somewhere. I didn't have a way of knowing. I even called out, staring into the mirror, if anyone was there. Nothing. So were these memories embedded in my head given to me or only found?

I hadn't gone on a woods adventure to rescue the children. I hadn't injured Epona in my haste. I even double checked my horse's body for any injuries. Of course, even if Ilia would somehow still try to take my horse away, I wasn't going to stand still in shock and let her.

At last, I couldn't let myself hesitate in my home any longer. I made my way into the village, leading Epona, to go collect the tribute and say a short farewell to the villagers.

That was sure to feel odd too. Link had known these people all his life. They were precious to him. Me? They were a bunch of NPCs and the emotions they elicited were not so strong. Even knowing that now, they were real people didn't change my unconscious opinions. To me, Ordon Village was a tiny pinpoint in the Twilight Princess adventure. Pergie? Jaggle? Sera and Hanch? These people especially I did not know. What, one tiny run in with some of them when I returned to the village to steal the tribute again? Just that, wasn't it, plus the game beginning. They weren't relevant. They weren't alive yet, in my mind. Guilt bubbled up again.

In the village, I said hello and goodbye to various villagers I met on my way. Epona's reins were tight in my hands.

How could I change things? I still hadn't figured that out. So what if we weren't in the spring when the enemy forces charged in? The children had still been kidnapped, hadn't they? Even Ilia too.

I didn't really understand the enemy motives. Why take the children away and why leave the adults alive? Hmm. Right now, it didn't matter.

What could I do? What was I supposed to do?

Ilia seemed a little distant and unhappy saying goodbye to me. That was likely the result of the conversation I'd had with her before. I felt a little sorry for her, especially thinking about a real person going through what game Ilia had. It was easier to not sympathize with the characters if they weren't somehow real. Deep characterization, usefulness to the player, endearing character design, these all helped to make you feel something for a bunch of data on a disk.

Real life wasn't quite the same way. It's very easy to sympathize without someone you could be.

I didn't want to leave yet, as everyone was expecting me to. I wasn't ready for that. Who knows what might soon happen if I left? I could imagine the children crying in an unknown, scary place, mother and father far away, not even knowing if they were all right. Or to lose your memory, lose everything you felt you were. If I'd dropped into this game without my memories, wouldn't I just be Link through and through? I'd stop being myself. Amnesia was a scarier thing than fiction wrote it as. Not knowing where you are, why you're there, or even who you are? I'm not sure I could stand that.

I couldn't let these things happen to these people. I had to prevent it somehow.

I couldn't think how.

Come on, girl! This is crunch time! What could I do, what could I say? Everyone was ushering me away and wishing me good luck.

Slowly, as slowly as I could walk, I started making my way towards the village exit. Smiling, looking back, waving. It was strange, eerie, how normal everything seemed. Slower and slower. Soon I was hardly moving. I was hardly breathing.

What could I do?

In the end, I did nothing. King Bulbin and his entourage came galloping into the village astride their boars. I heard their heavy hoof beats, even felt the ground move, before I saw them.

People ran out from their houses to witness the monsters' approach. There were shrieks and frightened calls.

I was terrified. Petrified. Just like the rest of us. In the end, something caught in my throat a minute, then I was ready again, and shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Get the children inside!"

My call, deep with urgency, was piercing. It snapped many of the others out of their panic. Villagers moved quickly, mothers running their young children indoors. Someone told them all to gather at the mayor's home, so they did so.

As chaos began to erupt, I hesitated a moment between drawing my sword or my bow. My bow, I chose. It felt more familiar in my hands. It was right for me. I could do this.

The memory I'd dreamed last night guided me. I lifted the bow, my other hand snatching an arrow from my back and putting it into place.

Their horrific faces appeared on the horizon, drawing closer too fast. Rusl had a sword and was moving forward to wield it. His eyes looked like those of beasts. I wondered if mine might look the same.

I took aim, ignoring him. My sights were on the leader, at the front of the screeching pack. I waited. Somehow, I knew to wait. My heartbeat was so fast I felt pain in my chest.

Their clubs were raised. Their faces, awash in blood lust and smiles.

One solid motion. It was almost natural. Almost.

I drew back to the peak of my weapon, so the arrow would fly fast and true. The moment it was in position, I loosed it. The string twanged, shaking, shivering, as the arrow flew through the air, so small, so fast I could hardly see it.

I had waited till I could see the whites of their eyes. King Bulbin's eye had been where I took aim.

I struck him, the carved tip of my crafted wooden arrow piercing his open left eye, the shaft of it dug deep into his head. He was so close to me, I could hear his wretched bellows of pain.

I felt like vomiting. Blood poured down his green face. I was going to be sick. I hated myself. This wasn't me, was it? Who was I?

Yet through these thoughts, I did not stop moving. I drew again, prepared the arrow, pulled, shot. This time, I stuck one of the small, secondary enemies. Struck him in the chest. I didn't have time to aim for smaller targets. There were too many of them. They still approached, moving so fast, too fast. One of them knocked over the Ordon sign with their club.

Another shot. Another arrow in another chest. I couldn't even watch what carnage I caused, I was too busy preparing the next shot.

Tears started falling from my eyes, unbidden. Wretched tears! I couldn't see well enough to aim. I couldn't think. I drew again, took another shot, half-blindly in their direction. It missed, I could see that by the enemies lack of reaction.

They were too close now. No more arrows in this fight, there wasn't time. I leapt backwards, as if that would make any difference. I slung my bow, by the string, back over my body and took out the sword Rusl had made me.

Rusl was running forward, screaming. And I saw at the last moment that Bulbin was not dead. Not nearly dead, that infernal creature. His thick fingers reached to his head and grasped the arrow. Effortlessly, those fingers tugged it out and threw it to the ground.

And then Bulbin grinned. He urged his steed forward, to Rusl. Yet again, I was paralysed in that tiny moment.

With one swift, smooth blow of his club, Bulbin separated Rusl's head from his body.

I fell backwards in shock. I started to choke.

How could this happen? This was my fault, wasn't it? If I'd only played the game the way I was meant to, Uli would still have a husband, Colin still have a father. How... how could I do this? I was so arrogant, so _stupid_.

It was all my fault. I vomited, the sticky, horrible stain right down the front of my body. I lifted my sword, still on the ground, as if I could somehow strike them.

The children, the mothers, Ilia were in the mayor's house. Perhaps they were safe, but I doubted it. I closed my eyes. I couldn't react anymore.

Something hit me in the head and a metaphorical blackness swept me away.


	4. Chapter 4

I believe I woke almost instantly. I woke with my hands tied with rough cord rope and my vision obscured by a large, thick cloth.

I awoke because I felt incredible pain. My body was straining against itself.

I'd never felt pain like this before! I could not breathe properly.

"Link!" One of the children cried, "Link, are you okay? Link!"

I could hear at least two others crying. And I felt their bodies knock against me. We were moving. Shaking. We were in a wagon or something of the sort. I could see nothing, and in my pain, it was difficult to determine.

I could not answer them. It hurt too terribly. I made strange sounds. This pain! Like my insides were trying to get out. My head also hurt terribly, but for that, I knew the purpose. I must have been hit to knock me out like that. Hopefully I didn't have a concussion or a form of brain damage.

I started to feel something different. The pain intensified. My limbs, my bones were re-arranging themselves. At that moment, I realized what was happening. We were in the Twilight. Damn it! Damn it all!

My insides shifted to a wolf's organs. I felt the ears, the snout, the tail grow. Fur errupted from my skin. Waves of new senses washed over me.

But my arms were still trapped behind my back. The transformation struggled against them, pulling tighter and tighter.

I screamed at the top of my lungs in pain. I was horrifying the children. I could hear their cries and smell their fear.

At last, my shoulders dislocated. They ripped from their proper spots in their sockets – I'd never been hurt like this before. I didn't know what to do, if I even could do anything. My arms, despite the dislocating, kept pulling. They made a wet sound, like the slapping of rain on leaves.

I was going to rip my arms off this way. But at last, someone took my sword and cut the bonds holding me.

And then, they kicked me hard in the stomach. I hit the ground behind us, my skin skidding across the dirt, tearing. I was wet with blood and sweat.

My arms, finally free, rearranged themselves more towards legs. The pain lessened considerably. Yet still, they were dislocated. I could not move them.

The transformation completed. Aside from the pain in my front legs, I was free. I could breathe again, and I breathed deeply. In and out slowly and heavily.

What would have happened if that person had not cut my bonds? I did not know.

What would happen to me now? My front legs were dislocated and unusable. I could not stand, could not even wriggle along the ground. I couldn't remove the blindfold, so I could not see anything around me.

"Help!" I tried to call.

The word came out as a hoarse yelp. I whimpered. Then I howled. Around me was silence. Would I starve here? No, I'd be eaten my a monster long before that.

I howled and howled and howled, even knowing that it was foolish, would only attract enemies to me. I keep howling, unable to stop.

I stopped when a fierce odour hit my nostrils. Well, it wasn't strong, but it was distinctive. It was like nothing I'd ever smelled before and something about it felt utterly _wrong_.

Soon, I could sense it in a way I didn't understand. A small being, coming my way. I could not hear its footsteps, but I could smell it, could sense it.

I whimpered again. Oh please, please no. Why was I so foolish? I was destined to die. I should have run away in madness the moment I found myself in this world. Foolish, foolish, foolish. It was my fault Rusl was dead. Whatever was coming to me, whatever end, was something I deserved. I deserved it for being so _stupid_. I lifted my head, terrified, wishing I could see

Something laughed at me. A human voice, but pitched strangely and wavering.

"I found you!"

I felt back to the ground in relief. Midna. I could have cried, but wolf eyes don't give tears in the same way.

"Eeh hee! What, are you scared of me?" She said, "I was hoping you would not be so much a coward.

Could I communicate with her in some way? Link could in the game, couldn't he?

I let out a whine. She laughed again. I'd forgotten how to speak, even if my wolfish mouth could form words.

She came further closer, then I heard a gasp.

"So that's why you weren't moving," She said, "What did they do to you?"

I whined again, unable to express myself.

"Well," She said, by the tone of her voice, clearly smiling again, "I'll help you out, but in exchange, you have to do _exactly_ as I say."

I nodded, human-like. She laughed again in her peculiar way. God, she smelled so weird. So utterly inhuman.

"Okay," She said, her voice serious. I could feel her small hands on my shoulder.

"Hold still," She said, "This is going to hurt a lot."

I nodded again and clamped shut my jaws. She was going to be align my shoulders. It was going to hurt. I knew how this worked.

I yelped and screamed. Yet still, I had to bear her doing the other one.

They hurt so much. They were so sore and so hard to move. I struggled to get to my feet, barely managing it.

"Whoa!" She said, "Wait, wait, wait, stupid wolf! You need to let those heal!"

Right. Good idea. I felt back down onto my stomach. This body was a whole new existence. I'd already been dropped into an unfamiliar body, but this was more, this was worse. I waved by tail back and forth to test its movement. It felt so natural and unnatural at the same time.

I felt her lay her hands on my back.

"I'm going to take you away from here, okay?" She said.

Twilight portals. I knew how this worked. Where were we? Why could she do it in this place? Ugh, why hadn't she taken off my blindfold yet?

I felt myself... disappear. For a moment, I was gone from existence, and I wondered if I was truly the same once I emerged onto different ground, reforming there. That's what it felt like to me – I didn't feel movement. I just felt myself go and return again, but I was returning to a different place.

"Awoo," I said.

She laughed at me again, but pulled away my blindfold. We were in the woods. Woods that I knew, a familiar clearing. This was somewhere in Faron, wasn't it?

Twilight surrounded us, threatened us, in this strange darkness. Much like the game, I saw little pieces of blackness float from objects up into the air. They were intangible – I could not touch them, only see them. They weren't close to me – they were a figment of light, or of darkness, only disturbing my vision, but not the physical world.

Midna was not where to be seen. I looked to the left and to the right. Where?

She appeared in front of me, upside down, from the sky.

"You aren't the brightest of beasts, are you?" She said.

I blinked at her, a long slow blink and she giggled.

"I've never been much for the nursing thing – you'll have to walk a little, come along." She said.

She wandered over. With great effort, I stood and began walking forward. My body hurt so much. I wanted to give up, but somehow, I could not. Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? To desire to go on, but be unable to.

Trill's stand. Of course. The little bird, or his spirit, was no where in sight, but his bowls of potions, covered, still existed.

I yelped when a pain bit through me.

"Come on!" Midna urged, impatient.

I nodded at her and clenched together my jaws. Almost there... why couldn't she warp me closer? I didn't understand her abilities and their limits.

She uncovered the one on the left, the red potion.

I made my way there.

"Here, up," Midna said, pushing up on my chest from below.

With her help, I was able to get my paws onto the table on either side of large dish. To drink... ? It was so undignified. I had to lower my head to the potion and dip my lower jaw in it. Like an animal, because I was precisely that. This was terrible. It was humiliating. I was stressed and in pain and riddled with guilt and unhappiness. And I could not even drink like a human being.

The potion had a sweet, pleasant flavour, like a very think fruit juice of some fruit I could not determine. As I drank, I could feel the pain quickly lessen. A strange sensation overcame me of the strained and torn muscles in my shoulders repairing itself. My head as well – I must have been badly injured there.

In the end, it had not healed everything, but it had healed most. I could stand without terrible pain now, I could move about more easily. I looked quickly to the left and the right, more to feel how the movement was than to see around me.

I jumped. It was awkward the first time, I hardly knew how, but by the third jump, I was a master. I stepped forward, I walked, then I moved fast, then broke into a run. It felt fantastic! My body never moved so naturally and so smoothly as a human being! I was so steady, close to the ground, on four limbs, with my tail balancing me instinctively. I wagged it back and forth quickly, let my long tongue loll out, and turned back to Midna. It was a dog's smile.

She shook her head, grinning, "You," She said, "Are far from what I was expecting."

I barked, cheerful again. Had I been so possessed by self-pity? I was borderline bipolar. Wallowing in misery helped no one. If I wanted to make up for what I had done, I had work to do.

I barked at her again.

"Yes, yes," She said, leaning back in the air, crossing her arms, "My repayment, right?"

I barked. It was feeling more and more right... I wagged by tail.

"In exchange for my help," She said, "I need you to gather some things for me. Look, I can't tell you all the details now, but it'll be easy, trust me..."

I tilted my head to the side.

"You're good with a bow, aren't you?" She said, "I know that you are. So, in order for you to really help me, I need you to become human again. Bet you'd like that too, wouldn't you, you beast?"

I nodded, enthusiastically. She almost seemed to want to make me upset, but I adored her. I'd played through an entire adventure with her. All the ups and downs, until we saved the world. I knew her, even though she didn't know me. I just wished I could, like Link seemed to in the game.

"You are such a weird one..." She said, "Well, come on then. Go the way I tell you."

She disappeared. Where to? I looked around for a moment – and then she appeared. I felt her, not saw her. She'd sat down on my back.

"Forward, wolf!" She said, her little hand pointing the way.

She was sort of heavy. I jumped up and ran off forward.

Why did it feel so good to be an animal?


End file.
